Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card: A Card for Frequent Travellers

Updated May 31, 2024
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To the point The Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card is a great credit card for frequent travellers. Find out why.

The Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card is one of Canada’s premium credit cards. It comes with benefits such as:

  • Flexible Rewards Program
  • 2 points per dollar on all purchases
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 10 Complimentary airport lounge access
  • Insurance coverage

Flexible Rewards Program

The Scene+ program is the loyalty program of Scotiabank, Cineplex theatres and, soon, IGA, Sobeys, etc.

See how many Scene+ points you can earn for every dollar spent on purchases with the Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card and the different ways to use them.

How to earn Scene+ points with this card

With the Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card, you can earn 2 points per dollar on all purchases. It is one of the only credit cards in Canada to offer this earning rate on any purchase.

For example, if you habitually spend $3,000 per month on your credit card, you can earn over 72,000 points per year on your card. A $720 value to use on travel! Without effort, nor worrying about purchasing categories.

Please note that, unlike other credit cards, there is no annual limit to the number of Scene+ points you can earn!

In addition, you can earn 3 points per dollar spent on hotel and car rental bookings made through Scene+ Travel.

Using Scene+ points

For travel

Since this is a credit card designed for frequent travellers, one of the best uses of your Scene+ points will be to apply them to your travel purchases.

Unlike other credit cards that require an exclusive supplier, with the Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card, you can use your Scene+ points for purchases at any travel provider, site or operator.

Whether you pay for a flight, a car rental, a hotel/apartment/house stay or a cruise, you can use your Scene+ points with the same value: 10,000 Scene+ points = $100.

So 60,000 Scene+ points are worth $600!

All you have to do is go to your online account and apply your Scene+ points to your purchase (up to 12 months after your purchase) via the “Apply Points to Travel” option.

You must redeem at least 5,000 points or $50 (after this threshold, the redemption ratio is 100 points = $1).

You are guaranteed a 2% return on your card purchases when using your Scene+ points for your travel purchases.

Travel voyage delay aeroport

For other types of rewards

The Scene+ loyalty program is growing rapidly in Canada. You can already use your Scene+ points for many rewards, such as products or gift cards.

Soon, you will also be able to use your Scene+ points at grocery stores such as Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, Foodland, FreshCo, Voilà by Sobeys, Voilà by IGA, Voilà by Safeway, Chalo! FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, IGA West, Les Marchés Tradition, Rachelle Béry and Co-Op.

Here again, you will get a value of 1 cent per point: 1,000 Scene+ points = $10.

Iga Extra

Exclusive Card Benefits

No foreign transaction fees

With this card, you will not be charged a Foreign Currency Conversion mark-up on foreign currency purchases. This is a unique benefit for credit cards in Canada.

That means you’ll save 2.5% on every foreign currency transaction, whether online or outside of Canada! Only the exchange rate applies.

For example, if you pay $15,000 in annual foreign currency purchases, that’s a savings of $375 in transaction fees compared to a credit card charging 2.5%.

Hotel Danieli, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Venice-072

10 Complimentary airport lounge access

With the Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card, you receive a Priority Pass membership and complimentary access to airport VIP lounges (including Plaza Premium Lounges):

  • 10 complimentary visits for the primary cardholder
  • 4 complimentary visits for the additional cardholder

With travel back in full swing, it’s nice to be able to wait for your flight in the comfort of an airport lounge rather than in the hustle and bustle of the terminal!

Salon Banque Nationale YUL-11

Premium concierge services

If you need help with your restaurant reservations or finding tickets for a show, the concierge service – provided by American Express – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

I have used it several times to get a table in “sold-out” restaurants.

Or to make a list of things to do, to see, to book in a city I was planning to visit and where language can be an issue like Seoul in South Korea.

An American Express card

As this card is part of the American Express network, you will access the American Express online offers, including Shop Small.

Simply register your card on this page.

Offers Amex Scotia Fr network

Access to American Express Invites

As it is an American Express card, you also have some benefits offered to cardmembers such as “American Express Invites”.

You can get to the Front of the Line for many experiences: concerts, theatres, restaurants, cinema, fashion and shopping.

To sign up for the service once you have your Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card, go here!

Card insurance

The Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card provides a number of travel insurance benefits:

Travel Emergency Medical Insurance

Coverage is provided:

  • for eligible persons under age 65 for up to 31 consecutive days
  • for eligible persons age 65 and older for up to 10 consecutive days.

Few cards offer coverage for those 65 and older.

As a Scotiabank American Express Platinum cardmember (cardmember includes the primary cardmember and any supplemental cardmember), you, your spouse and your dependent children are each eligible for up to two million dollars each in the event of a medical emergency due to an unforeseen illness or accident occurring while travelling outside your province or territory of residence in Canada.

Coverage includes eligible expenses for:

  • hospital care,
  • nursing care,
  • prescription drugs, licensed ambulances
  • and physicians’ and surgeons’ fees,
  • other eligible medical services and supplies.

Trip Cancellation / Trip Interruption Insurance

Charge at least 75% of your trip costs to your Card and get trip interruption insurance at no extra cost.

You, your spouse and your dependent children are eligible for

  • up to $2,500 per person for travel expenses (maximum $10,000 per trip) for trip cancellation benefits
  • up to $5,000 per person for travel expenses (maximum $25,000 per trip) for trip interruption

As travel resumes, it is essential to have the trip cancellation/interruption insurance provided by this card.

Flight delay insurance

Charge at least 75% of the full ticket cost to your Scotiabank American Express Platinum Card and you’ll be eligible for reimbursement of necessary expenses such as hotel accommodations, meals and other emergency items.

You may be reimbursed for eligible necessary and reasonable living expenses incurred:

  • during the period of a delayed flight or missed connection which lasts four hours or more
  • to a limit of $1,000 per insured person on the same trip.

As seen in the news, following the resumption of travel, flights can be delayed by several hours. Here, you are covered with this card when an eligible situation occurs!

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Delayed and Lost Baggage Insurance

Charge the full cost of your airplane, train, bus or cruise ship tickets to your Card. If your checked luggage is delayed or lost – you’re covered.

The lost luggage benefit is limited to the lesser of the value of the covered luggage or the actual replacement cost of the lost or stolen covered luggage, to a combined maximum of $1,000.

The delayed luggage benefit is limited to $1,000 for all insured persons on the same trip for the cost of replacing eligible essential items if your checked luggage is not delivered within four (4) hours from your time of arrival at your final destination.

Even though we advise you to travel light with a carry-on bag, there are situations where this is not possible.

It is, therefore, also essential to be able to count on insurance in case of delay or loss of your credit card luggage, especially at a time of resumption of travel when everything may not go as it should!

Rental Car Collision Loss/Damage Insurance

Charge the full cost of your eligible rental car to your Card and you’re automatically insured if your rental is damaged or stolen.

Note that the rental period cannot exceed 48 consecutive days and vehicles costing over $65,000 are not covered.

Thanks to this insurance, you can refuse the one sold by the rental agency, which can cost about twenty dollars per day!

Car Airport Nice
Car Rental - Nice Airport

Travel accident insurance

Charge at least 75% of your ticket cost to your Card and you’re insured against accidental loss of life or dismemberment.

You, your spouse and eligible dependent children will be automatically insured against accidental loss of life, or dismemberment – up to a maximum of $500,000 (to a maximum of $1,000,000 per occurrence).

Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance

Use your Card to pay for your stay at any hotel or motel in Canada or the U.S.

When you check into any hotel or motel in Canada or the United States and pay the entire bill with your Scotiabank Platinum American Express® CardIn the event of a break-in to your room, you, your spouse and dependent children traveling with you will be eligible for theft of personal property coverage.

Should your claim exceed the amount reimbursable by the hotel, and/or any applicable insurance protection, your coverage picks up the balance, up to a maximum of $1,000.

New Mobile Device Insurance

You may be covered by the mobile device insurance for up to $1,000 in the event your cell phone, smartphone or tablet is lost, stolen or accidentally damaged or experiences mechanical failure.

In order to be covered by this insurance, you need to charge the full cost of your new mobile device to your Card or charge all of your wireless bill payments for such device to your Card when you fund such purchase through a plan.

Purchase Security & Extended Warranty Protection

Most items purchased with your Card are insured against loss, theft and damage for 120 days from the date of purchase, and the manufacturer’s warranty is doubled for up to another year. (Maximum lifetime liability of $60,000)

Conclusion

The Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card is the best card for earning Scene+ points on all your purchases.

This Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card is THE card to have for travellers:

  • who do not wish to pay foreign transaction fees
  • who want premium insurance
  • who want access to airport lounges
  • who like to book their travel with any supplier

Take advantage of the current special offer to apply for this premium travel card:

This publication is sponsored by Scotiabank. However, the opinions and views expressed on this blog are only mines. Scotiabank is not responsible for maintaining or verifying the accuracy of the information published on this website.

Come to discuss that topic in our Facebook Group!
Jean-Maximilien Voisine

Jean-Maximilien Voisine

Jean-Maximilien Voisine
Jean-Maximilien, President and Founder of Milesopedia, is a recognized expert in rewards programs, credit cards, and travel in Canada and France. Approaching forty and a father of two, he has travelled to over 100 countries, half of them with his children and his wife, Audrey. Specializing in top loyalty programs like Aeroplan, American Express Membership Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy, he guides travellers to maximize their benefits across North America and Europe.
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